Encouraged by a series of historic gift commitments and growing momentum for SMU’s rise in national prominence, the Board of Trustees voted at its May 9 meeting to launch a new major gifts campaign on September 12.
SMU President R. Gerald Turner reports there has been an outpouring of financial support from the SMU family of alumni, parents and friends following the adoption of the University's Centennial Strategic Plan in 2006, and the appointment of new academic and administrative leadership.
"We have been truly impressed," Turner says. "We thought the last campaign, A Time to Lead, was historic, but the University has experienced record-breaking gifts over the past two years. This has encouraged us that the time is right to move forward aggressively to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Centennial Strategic Plan, and to ask our alumni and friends to join us in this important enterprise."
As SMU completes its first century and looks toward its second, unprecedented opportunities are at hand. This is why the University named this effort The Second Century Campaign.
The campaign’s quiet phase began in early 2006. During this time, SMU has received gifts supporting priority projects across all schools and units of the University. All combined, more than 40 individuals, corporations and foundations each have provided gifts of $1 million or more, including five gifts of $10 million or more, for a total that exceeds $300 million. An additional 171 donors have provided gifts between $100,000 and $999,999.
The impact of these gifts is being felt across campus. Already, as a result of the contributions of more than 27,000 donors, the following endowments and special projects have been supported:
- 1 newly endowed school
- 1 newly endowed academic department
- 5 new academic institutes, centers, programs and initiatives
- 8 newly endowed faculty positions
- 168 newly endowed scholarships
- 7 new facilities
In endorsing the Board's decision, Chair Carl Sewell comments, "We are tremendously excited about the pace of our forward progress, and as we interact with alumni and friends, we have received encouragement to move forward with the campaign. SMU supporters around the world are ready and eager to see the University achieve its next level of national prominence."
The campaign will be led by a Campaign Executive Committee, including members of the Campaign Leadership Council, as well as chairs of school, unit and regional steering committees.
"We are extremely excited about the upcoming campaign and the many SMU alumni, parents and friends who have signed on in volunteer roles," says the campaign's convening co-chair, Gerald J. Ford '66, '69. "Each of the campaign's steering committees is made up of committed individuals who are supporting SMU in new and important ways," says Ford.
The Second Century Campaign will officially launch September 12, 2008, with a series of events on the Dallas campus, and later in locations throughout the country. Current plans call for the campaign to conclude in May 2013.